Machine for separating and driving nails



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- Machine for Separating and Driving Nails. No. 2 ,648. v Patent ed'Aug.3,1 0.

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No. 230,648 Patented Aug. 3, 1880. r

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFI E.

ARTHUR NEWTON AND THOMAS HIBBARD, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING AND DRIVING NAILS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 230,648, dated August3,1880.

' Application'filed December 5,1879.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, ARTHUR NEWTON and THOMASHIBBARD, both of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State ofMassachusetts, have jointly invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Machines'for Separating and Driving Nails, of which the following,taken in connection with the accompanyin g drawings, is a specification.

Our invention relates to a machine for separating and driving pointedand headless cylindrical shoe-nails; and it consists in a peculiarcombination and arrangement of devices for separating the nails one at atime from a quantity placed in a hopper in bulk and delivering themsuccessively, point downward, beneath the driver, which devices will bebest understood by reference to the description of the drawingsaccompanying this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a sectionalsideelevation of so much of a machine as is necessary to illustrate ourinvention. Fig. 2 is a front-end elevation. Fig. 3 is a horizontalsection on line m x on Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is a frontside elevation ofthe hopper with portions broken away, and showing the reservoir inelevation with its front plate or cover removed. Fig. 5 is a verticalsection on line y g on Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on line 22 on Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a back or rear side elevation of the bevel-gearwheel upon the'hopper-sh aft and the hammer for rapping the reservoir toinsure the falling of the nails. Fig. 8 is a longitudinal verticalsection of a portion of the base of the machine, the nail-carrier, aportion of the nail-reservoir or zigzag chute, and the driver-tube. Fig.9 is a horizontal section on line 0 c on Fig. 8, showing thenailcarrierand its appendages in plan with driversocket removed. Fig. 10 is afront-end elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 9, and Fig. 11 is avertical section on line to w on Figs. 8 and 9 with the carrier movedfarther forward.

As the standard upon which the machinehead is supported, the jack forsupporting the last with the shoe thereon, and the feed mechanism formno part of our present invention, they are not shown.

A is the frame of the machine-head, having mounted in suitable bearingstherein the shaft B, upon the front end of which is firmly secured thecam G, which acts upon the antifriction roll (0 upon a stud, a, set inthe side of the driver-bar b, to raise said bar againstthe tension ofthe spring 0 surrounding its upper end, said driver-bar being fitted toa bearing in the frame A in a vertical position, and having set in itslower end the steel driver I), which strikes upon and drives the nailwhen the driver-bar b is suddenly forced downward by the tension of thespring 0, all of these parts being constructed, arranged, and operatingsubstantially as in other well-known nailingmachines.

D is a hopper in the form of a frustum of a hollow cone, arranged withits axis horizontal and at right angles to the shaft B in' afixedposition, and having its larger. end closed by the circular cover D,provided with a series of buckets, cl, proj eetinginward therefrom, andadapted to pick up nails from the lowest part of the hopper and carrythem upward as the bucket-wheel is moved around the axis of the shaft E,upon the rear end of which it is mounted, said shaft E having itsbearing in the stand F, which rises from the wall of the hopper D, asshown in Figs. 4 and 5.

G is a bevel-gear pinion secured upon the shaft B, and engaging with andadapted to impart motion to the larger bevel-gear wheel H, firmlysecured to the front end of the shaft E, and thus cause the bucket-wheelD to be revolved. 1

I is a short inclined chute, made V-shaped in cross-section, and placedin'the proper position to receive the nails as they fall from thebuckets d of the bucket-wheel D, and a short distance above and'awayfrom the upper end of the inclined tube e, the lower end of which isattached to and communicates with the upper end of the nail-reservoir J,the interior of which consists of a rectangular zigzag passage, 6,extending from the top to the bottom thereof, said passage being of awidth and thickness sufficient to permit the nails which enter its topthrough the tube eto roll down said passage in a horizontal position. p

K is a hammer attached to one end'of the coiled or scroll spring K, theopposite end of which is made fast to the top of the stand F,

said scroll-spring being provided with the lug adapted to bereciprocated horizontally in.

guideways in the base of the frame A, its central portion being made ofa thickness equal to the diameter of the nails, and has cut through itsforward end a transverse slot, h. of sufficient length .to receive thelongest nail when said slot is directly below the zigzag passage in thereservoir J, said nail resting upon the surface of the bottom of theguideway in which the carrier L moves, said pocket 7:. being adapted tomaintain the nail in a position at right angles to its line of forwardmovement.

The carrier L is moved from a position with the sloth beneath thereservoir J to a position over the pocket or nail-passage i in the toe Mby means of the cylinder-cam N on the shaft B acting upon the upper endof the lever O, pivoted at j to the frame A, and connected atits otherend to the link k, which, in turn, is connected to the carrier L, all asshown in Fig. 1.

The cam N is so fitted to the shaft B that it may be moved endwisethereon, but is compelled to revolve therewith by the two feathers Z Iset in the shaft B and fitted to splinegrooves cut in the cam in awell-known manner, and has formed in its periphery the circumferentialgroove m, to receive the forked end of the shipper lever P, by whichsaid cam may be moved endwise against thetension of the spiral spring asurrounding the shaft B between said earn and the hub of the pinion G,the purpose of which will presently appear.

The cam N has formed upon its rear end a series of teeth, a, whichengage with the teeth oformed upon the contiguous end of theclutchsleeve B, which surrounds the shaft B, but not secured thereto,and is mounted in a bearing in the frame A, and has secured thereto thedriving-pulley S, by means of which rotary motion may be imparted to thesleeve-clutch R, and when the cam N is made to engage with the clutch Rby the tension of the spring a the shaft B will be revolved, therebysetting in motion the operative parts of the machine.

Tis aspring provided with a shoulder, which engages with the shipperleverP when the cam N is disengagedfrom the clutch R, to prevent thetension of the spring at from causinga reengagement of the cam andclutch till such times as the operator is ready to start up the machineagain.

U and U are two rectangular bars, fitted to grooves formed in thebed-plate of the frame A beneath the carrier-plate L, in which they maybe moved endwise, said bars each being provided with a shoulder, 11, tolimit its backward movement, and with a spring, q, surrounding its rearend, a portion of which is made cylindrical for the purpose, which actsby its tension to move said bar toward the rear when it has been movedforward and keep the shoulder p in contact with a shoulder, r, on thebed portion of the frame A.

V and V are two curved fingers, pivoted, respectively, to the bars U andU near their front ends, and having their rear ends reduced to thinknife-edges arranged horizontally, which rear ends are depressed by thesprings s and s respectively.

The front ends of the bars U and U are connected together by the shortlever W, each end of which enters a slot cut through one of the bars, Uor U, and is connected to the bed of the frame A by the pin it, whichpasses. through the slot t cut through the lever, all

as shown in Figs. 8, 9, and 10.

The bars U and U" are placed somewhat nearer together than the lengthofthe nail, andeach has cut through its inner face aslot, a, sufficientlydeep to make the distance between the two inner faces of said bars atthat point which should be directly over the-nailpassage t in the toe Mwhen the shoulders 12 and 1' are in contact a little greater than thelength of the nail and of a width sufficient to ing shelf, '0, at theirlower edges, as shown in Figs. 8 and 11'. I

To the upper side of the carrier-plate L are attached the two springs toand w to the rear allow a nail to drop freely through the-same.

ends of which are secured the blocks a? and a respectively, whichproject inward from the inner edges of said springs, and have formed intheir forward edges V-shaped notches adapted to engage with theknife-edged rear ends of the fingers V V when said fingers IIO areraised to a given elevation by the passage of the nail beneath them,'aswill be more clearly described in explaining the operation. The blocks aand a may be adjusted vertically by means of the set-screws b and If, to

adapt their position to the size of the particu' lar nail being used.

The operation of our invention is as follows: The nails being placed inthe hopper in bulk and power being applied to the pulley S to rotate theshaft B, the bucketsd in the bucketwheel D wili'each scoop or take upone or more nails from the bottom of the hopper and carry them upwardtoward the top of the hopper, where they will be discharged, and,falling downward, more or less of them will be deposited in the V-shapedincline chute I, from 'whichthey slide downward toward the tube 0, andthose of said'nails which make such descent endwise and in the properposition will enter and pass throughit into the upper part of thechamber in the reservoir J, while those nails whichfall crosswise uponthe chute I, or are otherwise unfavorably situated to enter the tube 6,will drop from the lower endof the chute I through the space between thelower end of said chute and the tube 6 into the hopper, to be againpicked up and redeposited-in the chute.

The majority of the nails entering the reservoir J from the tube 0 willbe deposited in a horizontal position on the curved and slightlyinclinedshelf 0 from which they roll into the zigzag passage e, each nail beingcompelled by the form of such passage to maintain a horizontal positiontill it reaches the bottom of said passage and is deposited in thepocket h in the carrier-plate L; but if a nail should enter thereservoir in an oblique position, so as not to rest upon the shelf 0such nail will be discharged through one of the side openings, d or (1made through the upper part of the reservoir J, and fall into the hopperagain.

As the shaft B continues to revolve the cam N, acting upon the lever 0,causes the carrier L to be moved toward the front end of the machine,taking the nail which has dropped into the pocket It along with it, saidnail rolling upon the surface of the bed on which the carrier movesuntil its two ends come in contact with the under edges of the fingersVand V, when said fingers are raised or moved upward by the passage ofthe nail beneath them, said nail being so confined in the pocket It thatit cannot be displaced; but as the nail is thicker at one end than atthe other, the finger which bears upon the thick or unpointed end willbe raised sufficiently high for its knifeedged rear end to engage withthe V-shaped notch in the block a or a as the carrier is moved forward,and thereby cause said finger and the bar U or U, to which it ispivoted, to be moved forward with the carrier, while the finger whichrests upon the pointed end of the nail will not be raised high enough toengage with the block a or (L which passes over the finger, as clearlyshown in Fig. 8, where the last-mentioned finger is shown in dottedlines.

The forward movement of the bar U or U, caused by the finger which restson the head end of the nail engaging with the notch in the block a or amoves its shelf '0 over the nailpassage in the toe M in such a mannerthat when the nail drops into the nail-passage t' the head end isretarded by the shelf o, and the nail is compelled to fall into thepassage 2' point downward, as clearly shown in Fig. 11, where a nail isshown in full lines in position under the fingers, just ready to drop,and the same nail in dotted lines in the position it assumes on comingin contact with the shelf '0 in its descent into the passage 11. Thenail falls point down ward to the. bottom of the passage t, where itrests upon the sole or other object to be nailed till the carrier hasbeen moved back to receive another nail from the reservoir, when thedriver is released by the cam O and falls upon the nail and drives itinto the sole or other object.

, It will readily be seen that it makes no difference which way thenail" lies in the pocket of the carrier'as regards the direction of itspoint, as the head end'will invariably be retarded in its fall by theshelf 41, and the nail will be deposited in the passage 43 pointdownward.

, Any kind of pointed headless nails can be separated and depositedin'position point moved forward, the same as the finger on the head endof the nail. To obviate this difficulty the notches f are made toonarrow to permit the head end of the nail to enter them sufficiently toprevent the engagementof the notch with the finger; but if thechisel-point is standing edgewise its top side will be caught and thenail rolled till the finger rests upon its flat side. The notches are solocated on the fingers that this takes place before the blocks a and areach the rear ends of the fingers,

thus insuring the proper finger being caught and the nail properlytilted point downward into the toe.

If a blank or unpointed nail or a bent or otherwise imperfectnail shouldbe carried forward in the carrier, both fingers would be raised equallyhigh and be engaged by the notches and be moved forward with both of thebars U and U, to which they are pivoted. When only. one bar, U or U, ismoved forward the end of the lever or cross-bar W connected therewithmoves with it, swinging on its other end as a pivot, the slot t in saidlever permitting its center to move a distance equal to half thedistance moved by the bar U or U, at which time the pocket It in thecarrier L is directly overthe passage t in the toe M; but if both bars Uand U are carried forward in consequence of both fingers engaging withtheir respective notches the lever W is moved bodily until the back endof the slot It comes in contact with the pin t, which takes place whenthe barshave moved only one-half the distance that either would movealone, when the forward motion of the fingers, bars, and carrier-plateceases, and the resistance presented by the pin tis transmitted backthrough position till the defective nail is removed and a perfect oneput in its place.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is

1. The reservoir J provided with the zigzag passage 6, extending fromthe top to the bottom thereof, substantially as and for the purposesdescribed.

2. The combination of the V-shaped inclined chute I, inclined tube 0,arranged in line with said chute, but separated therefrom, and thereservoir J, provided with the zigzag passage 6, all arranged andadapted to operate substantiall y as described.

3. The carrier L, provided with the pocket h and adjustable notchedblocks a and a in combination with the two bars U and U, connectedtogether by the lever W, and the two fingers V and V, all constructed,arranged, and adapted to operate substantially as and for the purposesdescribed.

4. The combination of the flaring-mouthed nail-passage i in the toe M,the carrier L, provided with the pocket h, and adapted to take a nailfrom the bottom of a reservoir in a horizontal position and convey it insuch position to a po nt over said nail'passage, two fingers or armsadapted to be engaged by and moved forward with said carrier, and twoshelves placed below said carrier, connected with and adapted to bemoved by said fingers into a position to cover a portion of the flaringmouth of the passage i upon one side or the other, substantially asdescribed.

5. The combination of the carrier L, notched blocks a and a fingers Vand V, bars U and U, slotted lever W, pin it, link 70, lever O, cam

N, and clutch R, all arranged and adapted to operate substantially asand for the purposes described.

6. The reservoir J, provided with the zigzag passage 0 and shelf 6 andhaving cut through its side, near its top, the openings d and d incombination with the inclined supply-tube c, all arranged and operatingsubstantially as and for the purposes described.

7. The combination of the reservoir J, provided with the zigzag passage0, the springhammer K K, and the wheel H, provided with one or morepins, g, all arranged and adapted to operate substantially as and forthe purposes described.

8. The carrier L, provided with the pocket h, and adapted to take a nailfrom the bottom of a reservoir and convey it to a position beneath adriver with the nail lying in a horizontal position and at right anglesto its line of forward movement, substantially as described.

9. The fingers V or V, provided with the notch f, arranged and adaptedto operate substantially as and for the purposes described.

10. The combination of the carrierL, notched blocks aand a and thefingers V and V, all arranged and adapted to operate substantially asand for the purposes described.

Executed at Boston, Massachusetts, this 2d day of December, A. D. 1879.

ARTHUR NEWTON. THOMAS HIBBARD.

Witnesses:

E. A. HEMMENWAY, O. H. Donn.

